That generosity was reported by Michael Sommer, vice director of Adveniat, a German institution that gives aid to the «continent of hope,» during a meeting of the secretaries-general the bishops´ conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean, which ended here March 22.
The meeting was organized by the Latin American bishops´ council (CELAM) and attended by Bishop Jorge Jiménez Carvajal, the group´s president. Sommer, who delivered the main address, focused on «How to Achieve Self-financing: A Task of the Church.»
Among the German groups that have donated to Latin America are Adveniat, which gave $750 million; Misereor, $400 million; various dioceses, $60 million; Caritas, $90 million; and the Holy Infancy Missionary Work, $100 million.
Aid to the Church in Need, based in Germany, has allocated at least $100 million. The donations come from Catholics of 16 countries.
